Democratic committee chief calls on Rep. Ruben Kihuen to resign and other news in brief

Saturday

Dec 2, 2017 at 12:01 AM

By Tribune News Service

WASHINGTON — Responding to allegations that Nevada Rep. Ruben Kihuen sexually harassed his finance director on the campaign trail last year, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is calling on the freshman Democrat to resign.

“Members and candidates must be held to the highest standard. If anyone is guilty of sexual harassment or sexual assault, they should not hold elected office. Congressman Kihuen should resign,” New Mexico Rep. Ben Ray Lujan told BuzzFeed Friday.

BuzzFeed reported Friday evening that the former Kihuen staffer, known only as Samantha to protect her identity, quit her job during the 2016 campaign because Kihuen — then still vying for the Democratic nomination in the 4th District — propositioned her for dates and sex. She declined. She was 25 at the time, and Kihuen was 35. Samantha also alleges Kihuen repeatedly touched her thigh.

Kihuen responded in a statement his office provided to BuzzFeed.

“The staff member in question was a valued member of my team. I sincerely apologize for anything that I may have said or done that made her feel uncomfortable. I take this matter seriously as it is not indicative of who I am. I was raised in a strong family that taught me to treat women with the utmost dignity and respect. I have spent my fifteen years in public service fighting for women’s equality, and I will continue to do so,” Kihuen said.

—CQ-Roll Call

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Search for missing San Diego woman turns up remains near Joshua Tree National Park

LOS ANGELES — A search for the body of a San Diego woman who is thought to have been killed and buried in the desert turned up human remains Friday in the “Cactus City” area south of Joshua Tree National Park, authorities said.

The remains, suspected to be that of Julia Jacobson and her dog, Boogie, were found in a shallow grave near the 10 Freeway and Box Canyon Road, the Ontario Police Department said.

Authorities had been searching a 6-square-mile area of the desert since Wednesday. They focused on the area after interviewing Jacobson’s ex-husband, Dalen Ware.

Ware was arrested Oct. 13 by Ontario police on suspicion of murder and is in custody.

Jacobson, 37, was last seen at a 7-Eleven in San Diego early on the morning of Sept. 7. She texted a friend that night saying she was in the Palm Springs area, and that was the last anyone has heard from her.

Her car was found the following morning not far from her home in the Normal Heights neighborhood of San Diego.

—Los Angeles Times

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Robert Oswald, brother to JFK’s assassin, dies in Wichita Falls

DALLAS — Robert Edward Lee Oswald, whose brother Lee Harvey Oswald killed President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, died Monday in Wichita Falls. He was 83.

His obituary in the Wichita Falls Times Record News made no mention of his brother’s infamous place in history except to say “he spent his youth in Louisiana with his brothers Lee and John Pic before joining the Marine Corps in 1952 at age 18.”

Oswald often said he believed the findings of most experts that his brother acted alone in killing the president on Nov. 22, 1963. Late in life, he said he still didn’t understand why.

Oswald bought his brother’s pine casket for $300 in 1963, and fought against his exhumation in 1981. When Lee Oswald’s original casket went up for auction in 2010, Robert Oswald sued and was awarded $87,468.

According to the Times Record News, Oswald is survived by his wife, Vada; his daughter, Cathy Barrett; his son, Robert Oswald; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

The McDonald’s employee who turned over a gun used in a string of slayings in the Tampa area will receive “every penny” of the promised $110,000 reward in the case.

Delonda Walker, the manager of the local fast food chain, has been hailed as a hero by community members and law enforcement officials alike for the role she played in the capture of Howell Donaldson, who is accused of murdering four people in the Seminole Heights neighborhood.

Donaldson, who worked with Walker at the McDonald’s, was arrested after Walker turned over a bag of food he handed her that also contained the gun used in all four murders.

Tampa businessman Richard Gonzmart personally delivered a check for $9,000, which he promised to donate to the reward fund dedicated to generating tips in the serial killer case, Bay News 9 reported.

Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay initially declined to give Walker the $5,000 portion of the reward they promised as she did not report her tip through their line. They later reversed course on the matter.

The rest of the $110,000 is coming from several different agencies, including $80,000 from law enforcement agencies, Police Chief Brian Dugan said during a news conference.